President Bush was in town on Saturday (or Sunday) to mark his daughter's graduation from the University of Texas and I swear the news said that he flew in to Robert Mueller Airport (now closed...) and showed video footage of the motorcade and it really did appear that they were maneuvering through all of the barricades that have been placed there since the airport was closed, 5 years ago.

Several points:

1) If this is true, kudos to President Bush for choosing the route that would least affect both vehicular traffic, as well as ATC at Austin-Bergstrom.

2) With only a dilapidated control tower, is Robert Mueller Municpal still really viable as a landing area?

Even when the field was open, I would imagine it would have been difficult or not possible for the 747 to land on the relatively short main runway that existed there. Likely, any presidential visits in the past would have been via Bergstrom Air Force Base, which as you know is now the current airport.

Yes, President Bush was in town to celebrate privately...he opted not to attend either ceremony for fear of disruption for the other graduates and their families. Robert Mueller IS capable of landing a 747...specifically Air Force One, as President Clinton had landed there several times before it was closed to attend speeches at the University of Texas and the capital as it was the closer option. In the past, many presidents have used Bergstrom to limit the effect of their arrival on commercial air traffic, and for general security concerns as Bergstrom was an Air Force Base and was not the commercial airport in the area that it has now become.